The history of voting in Victoria by Professor Marilyn Lake AO

RHSV Gallery Downstairs 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Professor Marilyn Lake AO, has graciously agreed to speak about the history of voting in Victoria, when women were able to vote, when voting became compulsory and the part League of Women Voters Victoria (LWVV) played. 

Heritage Excursion – Eltham Cemetery

Eltham Cemetery Metery Road, Eltham, VIC, Australia

Stories connect us to our local heritage. March is Women’s History Month. During our first excursion of the year, we will recognise the contributions of some local women to our community. Nestled on high ground, once overlooking the village of Eltham we will tour the Eltham Cemetery and share stories of women now interred in
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Launch of Andrew Lemon’s historical novel, The Pebbled Beach at Pentecost

Edendale Farm 30 Gastons Road, Eltham, VIC, Australia

The launch of historian, Andrew Lemon's, debut historical novel. An historian finds a cache of letters home to England, spanning a dozen years. The letters are from Vernon Lee Walker, a young Englishman from industrial Wolverhampton, who meets his death on a beach on Pentecost Island in the South Pacific on the eve of Christmas 1887, to his mother. With decreasing frequency, the letters follow his trajectory, first in Melbourne and Sydney, then as he yields to the spell of the Pacific. But what happens between the lines? Does he fall in love with his brother’s wife? What does a boy not tell his mother?
The novelist steps in. This is a unique fusion of authentic history and informed invention – a tragic story of colonialism in Australia and the Pacific, told with compassion, humour and a deep understanding of time and place. 

The Plight of St Kilda’s 19th Century Servants

St Kilda Army & Navy Club 88 Acland Street, St Kilda, Victoria, Australia

In this fascinating and insightful presentation - St Kilda Historical Society's first public event of 2022 - Carmel McKenzie will examine the living conditions and power dynamics of servants in nineteenth century St Kilda, drawing on numerous case studies gleaned from primary sources. The research forms part of her soon to be published book: St Kilda 1841-1900: Movers and Shakers and Money-makers.

ADRIFT IN AN ARMCHAIR WITH ROBYN ANNEAR

RHSV, Gallery Downstairs 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Robyn Annear has devised 7 historic walks around Melbourne and, in this event, she will be taking us on one of those 7 walks, albeit whilst we are seated comfortably at the RHSV with a glass of wine in hand. The walks showcase the hidden histories we might scurry past every day, the buildings now gone and the extraordinary characters who inhabited them. Robyn, as always, will be charming, erudite and frankly gossipy.

$10 – $20

Kew Historical Society annual McIntyre Lecture

Just Theatre, Kew Court House 188 High Street, Kew, VIC, Australia

The Society’s annual McIntyre Lecture is planned for the 9th March and will be held in the Just Theatre at the Kew Courthouse, 188 High Street, Kew. We will be serving refreshments from 7.30pm with the Lecture commencing at 8pm. The Lecture will also be available via Zoom meetings. Katherine Sheedy from Way Back When
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$20

Unprotected: Aboriginal, Convict and Poor women in Colonial Victoria: or how everything bad was made worse by being female

RHSV, Gallery Downstairs 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Protection of body and soul in colonial Victoria came in many forms. At the most fundamental level it meant an entitlement, usually by birth or marriage, to an income that sustained you and your children; to a moral status as a woman of virtue that made sexual assault or abuse an egregious version of a
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$10 – $20

MILESTONES IN ABORIGINAL WOMEN’S ACTIVISM, MELBOURNE 1930-1970

RHSV Gallery Downstairs 239 A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

This, our inaugural Indigenous History lecture, is a stellar addition to our annual program of Distinguished Lecturers. The lecture has been generously sponsored so we can make it free-of-charge and as accessible as possible. Welcome to Country will be performed by respected Elder, Aunty Zeta Thomson. Our President, Richard Broome, will chair this event. We
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Free

The Party: Book Launch

Victorian Trades Hall 54 Victoria Street, Carlton, Victoria, Australia

The long awaited launch of Stuart Macintyre's second volume of the history of the Communist Party of Australia is happening on Wednesday 16th March in the Solidarity Hall of Victorian Trades Hall. Hosted by SEARCH Foundation and the Melbourne Labour History Society, the event will feature a formal launch and a panel discussion.

Putting Them Up and Pulling ‘em Down

Port Melbourne Library 333 Bay Street, Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Statues have become controversial. The Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society invite you to register for a discussion group based on a lecture, Putting Them Up and Pulling ‘em Down by Jim Davidson, on Thursday March 17th at 2:00pm in the Port Melbourne Library.